Easter egg hunt in Laval goes horribly wrong

10,000 show up for hunt where kids got knocked over, parents snatched eggs from other kids' baskets

An Easter egg hunt in Laval, Que., involving thousands of people turned into a mad scramble, with parents snatching eggs from children's baskets to give to their own kids. (Darin Oswald/Canadian Press)

Laval, Que., was the scene of an Easter egg hunt gone so bad that organizers are considering having police on hand for the next edition.

More than 10,000 Easter egg hunters and their parents showed up to the Cocothon event last Saturday at Laval’s Nature Centre. About 7,000 more people than expected showed up for the annual egg hunt.

Displeased with the delay in the start of the hunt, some parents disassembled the fence, causing both children and parents to lurch forward ahead of the scheduled depart time.

“The hunt was supposed to start at noon, but some people arrived at 9:30 a.m. and got impatient,” said Cocothon organizer Angella Pattas.

“It was really the beginning of the loss of control.”

Some children got pushed over as others ran forth to scoop up plastic eggs containing treats.

Other youngsters came away with nothing — especially after some parents snatched eggs out of other children’s baskets to give them to their own kids.

Luckily, no one was injured.

However, some angry parents took to Facebook to demand a refund for the $3 entrance fee.

Pattas apologized for the failures in the organization of the event. She also criticized parents for behaving the way they did.